Hama sept 2009 4533.jpg

The Great Mosque was a major victim of the 1982 destructions after the uprising that year. It has been restored to its former glory since. It was founded under the Ummayyads in the south part of a complex of a Roman temple from the third century AD, replacing a Christian church (probably sixth century, some remains are visible in the west wall of the prayer hall) that had been erected on that sacred spot. The prayer hall has three aisles, each topped with five domes. Like in the Ummayyad mosque in Damascus there is a treasury on reused columns, almost certainly from the Ummayyad period too. Of the two minarets the one near the main, north, entrance is Mamluk, the other one dates from 1153 and has bands in black and white.